Talk Money: August 27, 2015

The airline industry is notoriously difficult and plenty of airlines are losing money.

So Air New Zealand and its 11,000 staff have good reason to celebrate a record profit.

The airline made a pre-tax profit of $496 million – that's 49 percent up on a year ago.

Air New Zealand says that was achieved by growing its sales revenue in Asia, the United States and Australasia. It is also doing a better job of controlling its costs and it got a big lift from lower fuel prices.

But there are challenges, including increased competition from airlines like Jetstar.